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Monday, 22 August 2016

THE POWER OF A COHESIVE WARDROBE

In the time since my last post, my young master had a small accident, my mother in law had a 6 week hospital stay and my own mum had emergency surgery ... and that's only some of it so, sadly, blogging has not been at the top of my to do list.Reviewing the last couple of months I realise how much I appreciate my wardrobe.When life is happening all around you, you just need your wardrobe to work for you.

During this time I have been able to get dressed without too much thought, allowing my mind to focus on the things that required my attention and direct my time accordingly. I certainly missed the creative process that goes into putting new outfits together and playing in my closet trying different combinations, but having "go to" outfits and combinations that I know work, and items that mix so easily, simply took the pressure off at a very busy time.I have been sharing recently about how over the past 5 years I have defined my personal style and have been carefully curating my wardrobe. Minimizing the amount of clothing I have, and making very intentional purchases. With that came another important decision, that of minimizing my colour palette. The foundation of my wardrobe for many years now has been black. Over time I have added white, soft grey and ink blue. Accent colours are cobalt blue, deep red and a cool soft pink. Pattern is muted, abstract and usually black/white/grey. The end result is that the majority of my wardrobe items work extremely well together.

I believe one of the mistakes we can make is to not focus enough on building a wardrobe of items that work together to create multiple outfits. Instead, we focus on individual outfits, where the items work well in that one outfit but don't play well with other items in your closet. This kind of wardrobe is great if that works for you, but for me that would be very limiting and frustrating.

My wardrobe works well across the many roles I play in life... professional, mum, volunteer, carer, etc.These days we wear so many hats that having a wardrobe that transitions well from one thing to the other is essential. Needless to say I don't have the budget for separate wardrobes for each of these roles. So for me, the skinny ponte pants I wear to work with a blouse and blazer, do double duty for after school sport with a roll neck sweater and coat. That sweater also goes to work over a long pleated skirt. The long pleated skirt worn with a crisp cropped white square tee takes me out to dinner... you get the idea. And when life gets on top of you and you don't have time to think about your outfits, it all still works.

So here is a small sampling of recent work outfits. On the day I wore the pink jacket, I was exhausted. It was a no brainer, column of black, and a pretty pink blazer to 'pep' me up and hopefully mask how tired I was feeling. If you are working through a wardrobe process at the moment, it will pay off. I suspect our wardrobes are always a work in progress and are never 'finished' because we are never 'finished'. Our wardrobes evolve with us, so change is always on the horizon but it is possible to make your wardrobe work for you and have it be one of the little pleasures in life.

Hi Bette, the cardigan is from Metalicus. The style is very much part of their signature and their garments are just beautiful to wear. They are an Australian label and you can check out their website. xxx Deborah

Hi Deborah, you always look great and I too love that cardigan. Do you have a styling consultancy business. I live in Bendigo too and have a serous need for someone to take me, and my wardrobe in hand.

Thanks Sharon:) Both mums are back home and things are much more 'relaxed'. Parenting has been taking it's toll too with my young man just being at a stage where I need to be close and available, I am sure you have been there:)

I just found your blog today and you've just described exactly what I want! One wardrobe that works for all of my life. I've been working toward that for a while but I look forward to finding some inspiration here.

About Me

I'm a 40 something wife, mum and community worker from Melbourne, Australia now living in a smaller regional city in Victoria. Style is a hobby, a passion and a creative outlet. Thanks for dropping by.